What is PoS Innovation Summit about and what are the expected gains of the next edition of the event?

The PoS Innovation Summit is a platform where stakeholders in the financial technology ecosystem come together to deliberate, share wisdom and experiences in a bid to improve service delivery in thee-payment sector. These discussions are aimed at achieving the financial inclusion goals of the Federal Government and attaining the Financial SystemStrategy (FSS) 2020 Plan of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The first edition for this year will focus on improving ﬁnancial inclusion through the agency banking system. A good number of Nigerians have embraced the deposit, transfer and withdrawal of money through agent banking operators both in urban and rural areas. As this trend evolves, creativity and innovation will be major contributors to sustainable growth, especially regarding new market segments. The theme of the event -Agent Banking Deployment to Reach the Last Mile – will focus on the delivery of convenient, accessible and cost-effective financial services to the underserved and unbanked.

How would you describe the relationship between banks and fintech companies in Nigeria?

Banks have been great partners with Fintech companies in the financial inclusion drive across Nigeria. The truth is that there is very little we can do without the support of banks. They are the ones legally licensed to hold money on behalf of customers. What we do as a Fintech company is to serve as an enabler; a platform through which bank customers pay one another without having to walk into banking halls. We believe that partnering with commercial banks and other financial institutions will make it possible to bridge the financial inclusion gap and reduce the number of people who are still unbanked.

How big is the contribution of Global Accelerex to increasing the financial inclusion rate in Nigeria?

We have contributed massively to the financial inclusion drive of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Recently, we won the CBN-NIBSS award as Cashless Driver: Point of Sales (PoS)Transactions. This award was given to us because our PoS terminals processed the highest volume of transactions on behalf of banks in 2018. The higher the number of people that adopt the cashless payment system, the lower the number of the unbanked. Accelerex Agent Network Platform, a product developed to facilitate the business of super agents, agent managers and sole agents, has also contributed to the inclusion drive by making the activities of agents easier and convenient. The platform is secure and packed with unique features and benefits, including instant transaction notification, same day settlement and remote monitoring of agents.

How would you describe the role government, CBN and Nigerian banks have played so far in the financial inclusion drive?

The government has done a lot in the area of creating enabling laws to promote financial inclusion inNigeria through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Some of the key initiatives by the apex institution to bridge the financial inclusion gap include Agency Banking,Tiered Know Your Customer Requirements, MSME Development Fund, CompulsoryFinancial Literacy Workshops for Schools by Banks and Mobile Money Operation.These policies have contributed immensely towards getting more unbanked people into the banking system. We believe that with the new emphasis being placed onAgent Banking, even more unbanked people will soon come into the banking funnel.

What prompted your new logo design and the overall brand re-stage?

We are repositioning the business to take on bigger responsibilities within Nigeria and across Africa. This is borne out of a new strategic direction to deepen our footprints on the continent by providing financial technology solutions to help businesses grow.We are building new processes and bringing in talents to enable us continually deliver on our promises to our partners. By changing our logo to Accelerex, which is shorter and easier to pronounce, we hope to increase mind share and generate more goodwill for the brand. The new logo is bold, progressive and futuristic, reflecting our new corporate vision and direction; a globally accessible brand with strong African footprints. We will also not relent in our effort to develop creative new solutions that will simplify different financial payment needs.

What are your target audience going to expect with your rebranding efforts or is the rebranding only a logo change?

With the new brand comes a renewed commitment to our partners, clients and other stakeholders to deliver superior financial technology solutions to suit their unique business needs.For us, it is beyond just a logo change. It comes with a consciousness that we must exceed our best performance. The new logo is a reminder of our responsibility to our clients; to deliver sterling customer service at all times. We are very lucky to have dedicated staff who go the extra mile to achieve results that exceed our customers’ expectations. In this new phase of our growth as a company, we pledge to do far more than we ever did in the past.